


How to Save a Life

by HeereandThere



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: POV First Person
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-11-28 02:07:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18202055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeereandThere/pseuds/HeereandThere
Summary: On November 4th, 2015, Jeremy Heere was released from Beth-Israel Memorial Hospital after being admitted following the events of Middle Borough High School's "A Midsummer Night's Dream With Zombies".By November 5th, he was gone from his Metuchen home without a trace.No one knows where he went or why he went there, or even whether or not the disappearance was intentional, but they are aware of one thing: it's doubtful they'll ever see him again. With no evidence of a struggle or indication that he was taken, it's almost as if Jeremy never existed other than in photos and memories his grieving father holds so dear.But Michael Mell, who's been dealing with the loss in his own antisocial ways, knows his best friend is out there somewhere. Following a message from one of his online gaming buddies that reignites a new hope in him, Michael is fueled with a determination to find Jeremy alive and well and to convince everyone who has given up on the boy that they made a grave mistake. He may wind up pushing everything and everyone he loves away in the process, but anything is worth getting to see Jeremy's face again.Everyone tells him he's crazy, but he knows he's right.He knows Jeremy is alive.





	How to Save a Life

**Author's Note:**

> WARNINGS: Marijuana Usage; Swearing (Swearing Will Likely Go For Whole Story)
> 
> I don't know jack shit about Tagalog other than what I've learned from a few Google searches, so please let me know if I put something wrong so I can fix it! I would greatly appreciate it. (´∀')

_Sun is shinin' in the sky_  
_There ain't a cloud in sight_  
_It's stopped rainin', everybody's in a play_  
_And don't you know_  
_It's a beautiful new day_  
_Hey, hey_

  
The music blaring from my phone and through the PT Cruiser's speakers is completely unmatched with the atmosphere I've built for myself on these nighttimes drives, but I'm too focused on the road ahead to do anything about it. I make zero effort to change the radio from Electric Light Orchestra's pleasing tune and opt to keep my hands planted at ten and two, but that doesn't mean the upbeat lyrics and instrumentals aren't bugging me. It's not that I don't like what's playing; it's on my main playlist for fuck's sake. It's just too out of place for my liking.

_Runnin' down the avenue_  
_See how the sun shines brightly in the sky_

  
Cars and store fronts zoom past, and the lights they cast make the standing water on the road and sidewalk shimmer. Admittedly, it's pretty depressing and looks a lot like what could very well be a murder scene, but it's scenic and fits the mood well enough. It's a lot different from the sunny afternoon being described in the song's lyrics, with Metuchen being on its third day of nonstop rain and the time being almost 8:00 P.M., which is blissfully ironic. It almost makes me laugh and want to point it out to someone who wouldn't have noticed it, but that person is usually...

It was usually Jeremy.

I sigh deeply and fight to ignore that familiar ache in my chest.

_On the streets where once was pity_  
_Mr. Blue Sky is living here today_  
_Hey, hey_

  
Two cars ahead and I come to a stop when the light turns red. Instinctively, I run a hand through my already unkempt hair, and my eyes make contact with the Man in the Overhead Mirror just as I grab the steering wheel again. I look like complete ass. My hair is now doubly fucked up and the dark circles under my eyes don't make me look any hotter, not to mention that my eyebrows are furrowed and my eyes are wide. I look like one of those sad puppy dog paintings, but less "Awwww"-inducing and more pathetic. Still, no effort is made to fix it because why would I? People have come to expect it and it's not like me looking any less sleep deprived would impress anyone. But, I dunno. I guess it'd make my moms happy to think things are improving.

Ever since Jeremy disappeared, they've been on my case about self care and putting myself out there, which is well-meaning but too much. I know they do it because they care and don't want me to grow up to be an emotionally stunted adult, but the last thing I want is Mom pressuring me to go to the Valentines Day Dance when all I have the energy to do is lay in bed and binge watch Danny-era Game Grumps.

As bad as it sounds, maybe that's part of why I take these drives: to be alone and without guilt for feeling like shit for a little while.

_Mr. Blue Sky, please tell us why_  
_You had to hide away for so long (so long)_  
_Where did we go wrong?_

  
Speaking of parents and feeling like shit, Mr. Heere immediately crosses my mind for the umpteenth time in these past months. If I got screwed up by it all, I can't even begin to imagine how much it had to have destroyed him. But, I wouldn't know; I haven't really talked to him since mid-November.

It's mid-March, now.

_Mr. Blue Sky, please tell us why_  
_You had to hi-_

  
The music stops suddenly and is replaced by a familiar tune: Mom's ringtone, the theme from a TV show that she and I have binged I don't know how many times. I huff because I really don't want to talk to anyone right now, but if I ignore the call, I'm dead. Mom gets super worried super easily, especially recently, so once the reality sets in that I'm alive and well, she's not gonna be too happy.

Quickly and without donating too much attention to it so I don't wreck or anything, I accept the call and put it on speakerphone.

"Hey, Mom."

_"Michael! Where are you? Nanay said you left the house almost two hours ago."_

"I did, but I'm on my way back, now. I'm just a few blocks away."

She sighs quietly, relieved.

_"Good. You know I don't like you out on the road this late, especially not in this weather."_

"I know."

_"Have you eaten yet?"_

A twinge in my stomach reminds me that I haven't. How am I supposed to explain that? Sorry, Mom, your son's an idiot who got so wrapped up in his own crap that he forgot to perform one of the only duties he has to stay alive? "Uh... Not yet, no."

_"Michael-"_

"I just forgot," I assure her. "I'll grab something when I get home, okay?" She hums hesitantly.

_"... Okay. But I'm asking your mother when I get home if you did or not."_

So, she's worrying about me from work, where she takes care of the sick and dying. I'm almost flattered.

"I'm gonna eat, Mom." There's an edge to my tone that I didn't mean to slip in there, but she doesn't seem to notice.

_"I know, honey, I know. I just... I worry about you."_

I sigh. I hate it when she says that. "I know."

_"Okay, well, I have to get back to work, but I'll see you guys later tonight. Head home, get some dinner, and relax. It's the weekend! And don't forget to tell Nanay I love her."_

"What about me?" I mock sadness in a stupid attempt to lighten the mood and it actually draws a tiny laugh from her, even if it feels a little forced.

_"I love you, too, Michael. But, I need to go! Bye!"_

"Bye, Mom."

With a sad little tone, the call ends and "Mr. Blue Sky" starts right from where it left off, but I unplug the aux cord and stop Bev Bevan in his tracks. I wasn't lying when I told Mom I wasn't far from the house; that call alone took up enough time for me to get through the streets and pull up to my usual parking spot on the curb in front of the yard. I notice that the living room lights are on and Nanay's car is parked in HER spot, which is in front of mine, which I pretty much expected. She's a little less overbearing than her loving wife (love you, mean it, Mom), but there's still a part of me that wishes I had the house to myself for the evening.

I grab my phone and half-empty slushie cup, get out of the car, and walk at a casual pace up to the front door. It doesn't take long at all for me to get soaked, but I honestly don't mind; it means that I get to know the bliss that is coming into a warm and cozy house after being doused by the rain, followed by curling up under only the thickest covers. I might risk misery via a cold, but it's worth it. It's kind of funny how the little things can take your mind off of so much.

The door was left unlocked, so the doorknob gives way easily and the living room comes into my line of sight. Nay is spread out on the couch underneath the blankets that're SUPPOSED to be hung over the backs of furniture, watching TV with Bowser making up the top layer of covers. Bowser, our dog of questionable origins (by "questionable" I mean from a stray to a family friend to us) perks up and comes over to me with only the grace of a little old man. We got him as a puppy when I was only five, so now he's old and fat and only really able to be a lapdog despite him being almost as big as me, and he's been right alongside me and the rest of the family through all the bad. He's a good boy, and I tell him that as I scratch behind his floppy ears.

" _Mahal din kita_ ," Nay calls passive-aggressively, but I can see a smile on her face. I leave Bowser hanging and walk over to give her a hug from behind the couch.

" _Mahal kita, Nay_ ," I offer, but she squirms.

"You're soaked," she says matter-of-factly, with a slightly pained look. "I love you, but you're soaked."

"Bowser didn't care."

She laughs and shrugs me off. "Bowser's a dog. Go get changed."

"Will do." I nod curtly and set on a course for the basement, where my bedroom's been housed since my brother moved out when I was eleven. It's a complete mess down here, but that's not really a result of recent events; it's been like this for as long as I can remember, with clothes on the floor and random shit all over the shelves. It's a rat's nest and it smells like pot, but it's home.

The clothes I'm wearing are taken off and replaced with a plain black t-shirt and shorts; the hoodie is hung over a chair slid into my desk and the other stuff is thrown into the washer once I make it back upstairs.

"Did you eat while you were out?" I'm in the kitchen when Nay calls.

"Mom already beat you to it. I'm getting something, now." Plate, generic lunchmeat, bread, and chips. Put together, it's not much, but it's something. "She says she loves you, by the way."

"I told her not to call you, but she means well. That's your mother for you." I make some sort of noise that's probably irritated but, even though I'm the one who made it, I can't really tell. Then, I get caught trying to escape to the basement. "How're things going?" She watches me with a compassion she saves for special occasions, like when her youngest son loses his best friend for a second, more permanent time.

"Fine. They're okay."

I know she doesn't believe me, but, when I keep going downstairs, she doesn't stop me.

The door gets locked behind me instantly. My left hand traces the wall for support like an 11-year old Deviantart member while my right carries my dinner as I head into the bowels of the house. I survive the trip and set everything I need for the night up on my bed: me, under the covers, my food to my right, my slushie on the bedside table, my laptop in front of me, and my bong in my lap. No headset, since I'm feeling particularly antisocial and I say stupid stuff when I'm high, so I just log onto Discord, where a lot of friendly profile pictures are waiting.

❤ **Tight-Knit Family Man❤: hey, michael!!**

 

**Bangalor Gives Me the Big Gay: YO**

 

**zoinks scoob: Hoe, youre late**

 

**~Bisexual Disaster~: PAPA MICHAEL**

 

**Komaeda Undertale: H-Hewwo? OwO**

 

** Jim from the office: eyyy come suck ass at DBD with me **

  
I smile. It's like this entire server shares one brain cell, a level of absolute stupidity I've come to love and appreciate.

**Michaelangelo: sup heteros**

 

**Komaeda Undertale: Bold of you to assume I'm straight**

 

** ❤Tight-Knit Family Man❤: have you met me????? i'm the gay to end all gays **

 

**Michaelangelo: Foolish mortal**

 

**Michaelangelo: I'm a gay dude raised by a lesbian couple**

 

**Michaelangelo: I beat all of you**

 

**Jim from the office: guys, he's not wrong**

 

**~Bisexual Disaster~: Question**

 

**~Bisexual Disaster~: What if we're not gay??**

 

**zoinks scoob: Youre your own thing**

 

** Bangalor Gives Me the Big Gay: You can be the bi to end all bis **

 

**~Bisexual Disaster~: Hell yeah**

  
Everyone starts type-screaming about sexuality and movies from our childhoods and how Perry the Platypus is the gay trans icon we all need, while I sit back, lose myself in a blissful high, and shut my brain off for a while.


End file.
